WBB Takes Down Purdue 77-62 in WNIT Second Round

MILWAUKEE — The Marquette women's basketball team (23-10, 13-7 BIG EAST) continued its postseason run Monday evening, defeating Purdue 77-62 in the WNIT Second Round at the Al McGuire Center.

"This was another great victory here at the Al, I couldn't be more thrilled for our seniors to continue one more day," said Marquette head coach Megan Duffy. "We have a day-by-day mentality of trying to get better, and I just thought the energy in the building, the way we shot the ball and the way we got tougher as the game went on was really great."

In what was the first ever meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Boilermakers, Lauren Van Kleunen went off for a career-high 27 points, the best scoring outing by a MU player this season. The graduate forward had 21 points in the first half alone, and also posted team-highs of 11 boards and six assists.

Marquette got off to a hot start, shooting 56.3 percent (9-of-16) in the opening quarter. After surrendering the first bucket of the contest, the Golden Eagles got back on top and never trailed again. After a tight second and third quarter, MU outscored the Boilermakers 21-14 in the fourth to secure the win

In a battle against her former team, Karissa McLaughlin finished with 16 points. The graduate guard, who spent four years in West Lafayette as a Boilermaker, knocked down three triples in the contest. Jordan King filled the stat sheet in the win with 16 points, seven of which came in the final quarter, to go along with a career-high tying nine boards, four assists and three blocks.

Junior guard Antwainette Walker provided a crucial spark for Marquette, coming off the bench to go for 10 points and four boards in 21 minutes of action.

Purdue (17-15, 7-11 Big Ten) was led in the scoring column by Brooke Moore, who finished with 20 points.

With the win, the Golden Eagles extend their season as they advance to the WNIT Third Round where they will face Toledo Thursday night at 7 p.m. in the Al McGuire Center. This is the fourth time in program history MU has reached the WNIT Third Round.

This was the 15th 20-plus point showing of Lauren Van Kleunen's career, and her eighth of the year. She has now scored 20-plus in four of the past five contests.
Van Kleunen also recorded 11 rebounds for her seventh-career double-double and fourth of the season.
Marquette won the rebounding battle 43-32 and has now outrebounded its opponent in 27 of 33 games this season.
Marquette finished the game shooting 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the floor, 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from behind the arc and 68.2 percent (15-of-22) from the free throw line.
Purdue was held without a single fastbreak point in the contest.
This was the first all-time meeting between Marquette and Purdue.
With the win, Marquette is now 35-54 all-time in games against current BIG TEN programs.
In its 10th WNIT appearance, this is Marquette's fourth time advancing to at least the third round of the tournament.
With the win, Marquette is now 16-9 all-time in WNIT games, with a 9-2 tournament record at home.

UP NEXT: Marquette will host Toledo on Thursday, March 24 at 7 p.m. in the WNIT Third Round at the Al McGuire Center. The game will be streamed on FloHoops, with live stats and streaming information will be available on GoMarquette.com.

Keep up with the Marquette women's basketball program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteWBB) and Instagram (@marquettewbb) and `liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteWBB).